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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24304858">One Word Prompts</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MentallyUnstableUnicorn/pseuds/MentallyUnstableUnicorn'>MentallyUnstableUnicorn</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Established Relationship, M/M, Prompt Fic, more tags added later</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:48:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,080</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24304858</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MentallyUnstableUnicorn/pseuds/MentallyUnstableUnicorn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Words are powerful. They can elicit a particular emotion and paint an entire story just by existing. This is a pet project of mine to explore words and their power in a series of short (under 1K (mostly)) stories with our favorite YoI characters. I plan to update this story every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the time being.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Efficient</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Efficient<br/>
Adjective<br/>
Achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense</p>
<p>Every move that Yuuri made on the ice was efficient. He couldn’t afford wasted movements, not when they stacked his jumps in the second half. His stamina, while legendary, was not immeasurable and wasted movements meant less energy at crucial junctures of his program. Yuuri worked hard through the season to learn the most efficient way to move through his routines to maximize his score. It was the most beautiful thing that Viktor had ever seen. </p>
<p>The need to be efficient followed Yuuri through other areas of his life as well. It was, for instance, more efficient for him to read his favorite books while stretched out in a split across their living room floor. It was more efficient for him to practice his Russian while he was running on the treadmill after practice. It was more efficient for him to dance his way through making dinner, often running through sequences of his routines between seasoning meat and cutting vegetables. Witnessing it made Viktor smile. </p>
<p>However, Yuuri gave up his need for efficiency when he kissed Viktor. The movements were ritualistic at times, long moments of heady kissing with fingers curled in silver strands of hair. His body arched into Viktor’s touch as the Russian’s hands settled around his waist. While his movements still had a purpose, they were unreserved and wasteful. He took and gave freely with little regard to the energy each movement expended. It was here that Viktor was truly awed by his husband. </p>
<p>Fearful of failure fueled by his anxiety, Yuuri never just let go. He never threw efficiency to the side and allowed himself an opportunity to fall. Falling meant failure in so many ways that becoming efficient was the only way that he maintained control. But he gave up the control and put his full trust into Viktor. He trusted Viktor to catch him when he fell, and Viktor never failed him. Viktor could physically feel the level of trust that Yuuri had in him and he felt honored every time. </p>
<p>Efficiency made Yuuri do beautiful things, but his inefficiency made him remarkable in Viktor’s eyes.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Trap</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Trap<br/>Verb<br/>Prevent (someone) from escaping from a place</p>
<p>Yuuri sat in the corner of the dark room, eyes closed, taking deep breaths to try and push his focus into the present. He touched the ice. Sure everything else had been completely flawless, he had left everything he had out on the ice. But that didn’t change the fact that his fingers touched the ice. He looked down at his hand and could still feel the cold sting as it slipped along the surface, the damp cold seemed to settle into his skin permanently. </p>
<p>Yuuri touched the ice and he knew as soon as it happened, that everything he had worked so hard to achieve was all for nothing. He would hang up his skates without having seen the view from the top of the podium. He would quietly sink into the background becoming a distant memory of figure skating history and continue sinking until no one knew who he was or that he had ever existed. </p>
<p>The blood, sweat, tears, pain, time, that he left on the ice would amount to nothing more than a lackluster career. He reached for his dreams and he failed. He knew that life was rarely like the fairytales that he read as a child, but even that knowledge didn’t fully prepare him for the taste of ash that filled his mouth now. </p>
<p>The world blurred before him and he took a ragged breath threading his fingers through his hair and tugging lightly trying to ground himself, trying to prevent himself from falling prey to the spiraling thoughts in his head because he knew the second he fell he would be trapped. </p>
<p>Yuuri’s mind was not a friendly place. It was a world unto itself with monsters that lurked in the dark waiting to jump on Yuuri’s back and bring him further down. It was a place with a lore all its own, false narratives around every corner. He would fight against the waves of anxiety until his body finally gave out and he found himself sinking in the black waters, lungs filling with dread, fear, and self-loathing as he tried to breathe. He would remain trapped, a prisoner in a jail of his own making. </p>
<p>In the distant recesses of his mind, he could see a brilliant light breath through the darkness that surrounded him, a hand reaching out to try to pull him from his prison. He reached out, his body weighed down with his own feelings of inadequacy. None the less he reached. Until his fingertips brushed the fingers reaching towards him. </p>
<p>A monster lurking around a corner jumped on his back, ‘you can’t have this,’ it sung in his ear and continued to pull him away from the light. Yuuri looked once more at the hand before submitting to his fate and let the monster pull him down. For now he was too tired to fight. </p>
<p>Viktor settled his arms around Yuuri and pulled him close to him. He knew he wasn’t going to reach Yuuri this time. But he would still be here, waiting, for Yuuri to be strong enough to reach for his hand and be freed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was never really supposed to have a happy ending. I never planned it that way. Anxiety is impossible to shake sometimes. Viktor knows this. He knows that there will be times when Yuuri will fall too deep for him to reach. But, he will always stay with Yuuri and be there for him when he has the strength to fight and free himself.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Lemon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yuri is a lemon, bitter,  thick-skinned, and so much more</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lemon<br/>Noun<br/>A yellow, oval citrus fruit with thick skin and fragrant acidic juice. </p><p>When Yuuri first met Yurio he would have described him as a lemon. The description went far beyond just the yellow color of the boy’s hair. He was bitter, hard to handle, and strongly opinionated. He effectively demolished what little self-worth Yuuri had with a few scathing words in a random bathroom in Sochi. </p><p>When Yurio showed up at the onsen and threatened to take Viktor away back to Russia, Yuuri could further see the correlation between the young boy and a lemon. He was thicked skinned and strong-willed in equal measure. He fought for what he thought was right with such passion that it almost scared Yuuri. He was a monster, a monster that Yuuri had to defeat or he risked losing Viktor forever. </p><p>Lemons are bitter, hard to take in large doses, the acidic juice can aggravate a wound, or blind an enemy. Lemons are overpowering needing to be paired with equally strong foods in order to balance the taste or the lemon will take over with natural ease. </p><p>But if Yurio was a lemon, Yuuri was sugar. He balanced the teen in a way that no one other than his grandfather had managed. For every scathing comment the boy threw his way, Yuuri countered with grace and compliments. For every time Yurio got overconfident, Yuuri was there lost in his own thoughts afraid of the future and what it held. Seeing Yuuri struggle tempered Yurio’s attitude towards the man. </p><p>When Yuuri approached the boy and begged for help with his quads, Yurio found that he couldn’t say no. There was something about Yuuri that caught the boy off guard and he agreed. Viktor watched them for a moment through the window leading to the rink, Yurio’s hand motions clearly telling him what they were doing. He couldn’t help but smile. </p><p>Yuuri provided Yurio with motivation. A need to become something better than he already was. The loss of Hot Springs on Ice impacted Yurio in ways that he couldn’t have anticipated. It made him push himself harder, made him strive to improve, forced him to look beyond his own skills, and accept help where he wouldn’t have otherwise. </p><p>Yes, If Yurio was a lemon, Yuuri was sugar and mixed together they created lemonade. They pulled the best out of one another. Yuuri eased Yurio’s bitterness, cut through some of that thick skin, and showed him that it was okay to ask for help. Yurio showed Yuuri that he had his own strength and helped force it out of him. They complemented one another, even though they were total opposites. Their meeting was destined, and it set in motion a series of events that would turn both their worlds upside down. </p><p>But that was the power of a lemon.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Warlord</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yakov is the warlord of the Russian Skate Club</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Warlord<br/>Noun<br/>A military commander, especially an aggressive regional commander with individual autonomy.</p>
<p>Yuuri learned shortly after moving to Russia, that the Russian skate club was run like a mini-military. The junior-level skaters were like the enlisted soldiers. They did the majority of the grunt work within the building itself. The daily cleaning of the building was left to these skaters, and they did the job with little argument knowing that they had to pay their dues if they ever hoped to be trained on the same ice as the senior-level skaters, </p>
<p>If the juniors were enlisted soldiers, that made the senior skaters the officers. They had already done their time with the manual upkeep of the facility. They paid with their blood, sweat, and even tears on the ice. As such, they were responsible for helping with the training of the younger skaters, preparing them to inherit the senior skater’s role within the military one day. </p>
<p>Enlisted soldiers and officers are a dime a dozen in the military, though, and it was no different in the skate club. But even the military is ruled by an individual that was like God himself. And above them all, there was one man who ruled them with an iron fist. He could make or break a person with just a carefully placed word. He took no prisoners and demanded respect and loyalty. He was the warlord of the military… Yakov. </p>
<p>Yakov was intimidating to Yuuri even before he made the move to Russia, and it only got worse once he arrived. It seemed as if Yakov never really forgave Yuuri for skating his feelings that first night in Hasetsu. He had never forgotten that it was Yuuri who had taken Viktor, their star skater, away from Russia for eight months. No, Yakov held Yuuri personally responsible for Viktor’s actions, right or wrong. </p>
<p>Yakov was a firm believer in the way that his military ran. Everyone and he meant everyone, paid their dues without question. This meant that Yuuri was often times found with the junior level skaters taking care of the facility. Viktor had argued that Yuuri needed to train, he needed to be prepared for the upcoming competition and that cleaning the facility was counterproductive. But Yakov quickly silenced him, and Viktor could only give Yuuri sympathetic looks as he watched the love of his life handle a mop and bucket rather than skating. </p>
<p>Truthfully, Yuuri didn’t mind paying his dues. He understood that every person that stepped foot on Yakov’s rink had done the same. It was this work ethic that shifted Yakov’s long-held belief that Yuuri was irresponsible. On more than one occasion, Yakov had seen Yuuri staying long after the last skaters had left practicing on his ice. He had half a mind to tell Yuuri that he was overstepping, but instead, he sunk into the shadows and watched the man work. </p>
<p>He stepped forward after Yuuri hit the ice for the seventh time, attempting to perform a quad lutz-triple flip combination.</p>
<p>“What you are trying to do will get you hurt.” He said gruffly. Yuuri jumped a little at the sudden noise. “There is a reason people don’t do that combo, but I think you already know that.” </p>
<p>“Yes, sir,” Yuuri said quietly. He was embarrassed that someone had caught him attempting the move, more so because it was Yakov of all people. “J-Jumps have never been something I am strong at,” Yakov grunted his agreement as if that was plainly obvious to anyone who saw Yuuri preform. “I thought that if I could just get this one combo down, it would set me apart from the other skaters since there are only a few that can do it.” </p>
<p>Yakov was quite for a long moment as if digesting the admission and processing it internally. Yuuri fidgeted a little under his intense stare and couldn’t help but look at the ice to calm himself. </p>
<p>“Tomorrow, while the juniors clean, you work with me.” He finally said. “If you are serious about doing this combo, let’s at least make sure you don’t break an ankle while learning it.” He nodded his head and turned around, leaving a stunned Yuuri in his wake. </p>
<p>Yakov was a warlord, he ruled his rink, and no one dared to question him (apart from perhaps Viktor but every military had that one soldier). But he would be damned if anyone told him that he wasn’t at least fair. Yuuri had paid his dues, proved his ethic to Yakov, and for that Yakov would reward him with his time and help him improve his skills, something every warlord must do.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Quarantine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Most people come out of quarantine having lost something (an illness, strength maybe life) Yura comes out gaining something.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Quarantine<br/>Noun<br/>a state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious disease are placed.</p>
<p>Yakov had been very clear with them as he dismissed practice early in the morning. With things the way they currently were, he was placing the entire team into quarantine. He refused to risk anyone with the virus, and he wanted to be sure that everyone was prepared to work hard once things had begun to return to normal.</p>
<p>There were a few people that were happy with this news, a prolonged break, something they never got even in the offseason. Then there were people like Yuri who depended on the ice for his sanity. But Yakov's word was law. This meant that they weren't allowed to leave their homes unless it was for necessary supplies, food, medicine, or other approved reasons. It was shaping up to be a lot of downtime over the next few weeks.</p>
<p>Viktor pulled Yuuri to the side after the meeting had been adjourned. Everyone was gathering the last items that they would need from the rink for the next two weeks. They found a quiet corner and sat next to one another on the floor.</p>
<p>"It's going to be a long two weeks," Viktor muttered, closing his eyes and letting his head drift back to lean against the wall. Yuuri could only hum in agreement. "I was thinking," he said softly, lulling his head to the side so that he could look at Yuuri, "Yura is going to be stuck in the barracks the entire time. It's lonely."</p>
<p>Yuuri never really minded living in the dorms in college. It was quiet, and he was able to do as he pleased, even if that meant staying up far too late once in a while to play a game and forget to do his homework. But Yuuri also had Phichit. Phichit was good at making sure that he didn't turn into a total hermit. Yura, on the other hand, Yura would be left alone.</p>
<p>He was the youngest person living in the barracks at the moment. Most people were sharing rooms with at least one other person in their sport, but no other figure skaters were living there that they could pair him with. Yakov had refused to let him room with a hockey player because they were a bad influence. That left the teen on his own.</p>
<p>Quarantine would be hard on the boy. He wasn't like Yuuri, antisocial. As much as he bristled around people, Yura needed to have them around him, or he would slowly go insane. Yuuri thought about this for a moment. It amused him with how different he and Yura were, although they basically shared the same name.</p>
<p>"We could… I mean… we have space… and…" Yuuri stuttered. Even though he had been living with Viktor in Russia for a while, he had a hard time admitting that the house they shared didn't only belong to the Russian anymore. It was their shared space, their home.</p>
<p>"I was kind of hoping that you would say that," Viktor smiled softly at him. "Do you wanna go tell our little kitten?"</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>By the end of the first week, Yuuri was sure that he would lose his mind. Being stuck with Viktor was hard enough, and he was actually in a relationship with the man. But adding Yura on top of everything was pushing him towards his breaking point.</p>
<p>He knew that the blond could be crass, hard to handle, and blunt to a fault. But he didn't know how it would affect him being the subject of his hostility day after day. It typically wouldn't have been that big of an issue for him. Under usual circumstances, he would give Yura the space he needed. When it got to be too much for Yuuri, he would escape to the studio or the rink.</p>
<p>With his usual outlets taken away from him, however, Yuuri was suffering. Viktor hated to see him like this, stressed, withdrawn, self-isolating. He had even begun to pull away from Viktor, which was the most troublesome of all. Viktor wracked his head for days trying to figure out what he could do to help Yuuri feel better and came up empty-handed.</p>
<p>"Yura, can you give me a hand with this," Viktor called from the kitchen. It was the second day in a row that Yuuri had spent more time in their room than out of it, and Viktor knew that something needed to change. He was grateful that the teen begrudgingly came when he was asked too and started to help ladle bowls of beef stroganoff for their dinner.</p>
<p>"Listen, I know that it is stressful right now, but I need you to stop lashing out at Yuuri," Viktor said bluntly. The teen looked at him with a flash of anger in his eyes.</p>
<p>"I haven't done anything to Katsudon,' he defended.</p>
<p>"You keep snapping at him over the smallest things, Yura," Viktor sighed and leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. "You may not see it because that is how you tend to treat everyone. But Yuuri is, in case you haven't noticed, a little more sensitive than most people." The blond looked at the floor, at least looking ashamed.</p>
<p>"Yuuri can typically handle it because he isn't locked in a cage with no escape. But since we are here, he hasn't been able to do that. He would be struggling if it was just him and me here, it's worse because there are more people." The blond's eyes snapped up to Viktors, and he opened his mouth to speak, but Viktor cut him off.</p>
<p>"That doesn't mean that I don't want you here. It doesn't mean that Yuuri doesn't want you here. This was actually his idea. It does mean that things are a little tense, and I need you to work on trying to cool it a little."</p>
<p>Yura looked at Viktor and thought over his words. For a teen, he was pretty self-aware and knew that he was a pain in the ass to deal with. He didn't notice that he was the reason that Yuuri had been hiding out in his room.</p>
<p>"Yeah, yeah. I hear you," he finally said. He carried two bowls of food to the dining room table, setting one down in Yuuri's spot before unceremoniously dropping into his seat. Viktor watched him with a little amusement in his eyes. "I heard you, I'll cool it okay?"</p>
<p>"That's all I ask."</p>
<p>---</p>
<p>The second week of quarantine went by without too many issues. Yura was more manageable, and together, he and Yuuri even found a few video games in Yuuri's collection that they both enjoyed playing. They would spend hours talking about the best way to approach a situation and then put it into action. Watching the two of them left a smile on Viktor's face.</p>
<p>When word reached the skaters that practice would resume the following day, all three men were ecstatic. Dinner brought with it a lot of talk and speculation on the upcoming season. Would they be able to skate in front of their fans? Viktor and Yuuri hoped so, but Yura said he would be relieved to escape his 'angels' for a season.</p>
<p>By the end of the night, Yura was packing up his things to go feeling a little down about the prospect. It wasn't a big secret that he hated living in the dorms. Too loud, too smelly, too many fights. Yuuri watched him in thought for a moment and sighed.</p>
<p>"I kind of hate that he has to go," Yuuri admitted. "I know that the first week was a little rough, but it got better by the end." Viktor walked over to him and put his arms around his waist, resting his chin on the shorter man's shoulder.</p>
<p>"I know," was all he could say. Viktor had never voiced the fact that he hated Yura living in the dorms by himself. It wasn't always the nicest of places, and Viktor had some rather disturbing memories of his own from his time living there.</p>
<p>"You know, we do have a spare room," Yuuri whispered.</p>
<p>"We do," Viktor hummed.</p>
<p>"It would change a lot of things."</p>
<p>"It would," they both watched the boy put his suitcase on the couch and turn to look at them with a scowl on his face.</p>
<p>"What the heck are you two looking at," Yuuri looked at Viktor, a question in his eyes. Viktor didn't raise any objection.</p>
<p>"Why not take that stuff back to the spare room," Yuuri suggested nonchalantly. Yura looked confused for a moment. "The spare room here, it's yours if you want it." The two men watched in amusement as a range of emotions ran through Yura's eyes. Happiness, surprise, curiosity, even a little disgust… only a little.</p>
<p>"My room?"</p>
<p>"Only if you want it," Yuuri confirmed. It took a full minute for the weight of those words to hit Yura, and when they did, it almost looked like he was going to hug the Japanese man.</p>
<p>"Yeah, okay," He finally said, picking his suitcase back up and walking down the hall. "If you need me, I'll be in my room," he yelled back as he headed to his new room. He allowed himself to smile, knowing that the adults wouldn't be able to see it.</p>
<p>He lost some time in skating, they all did. But Yura gained a lot more by the end of quarantine, he had a room in a safe building and a makeshift family. Although he wouldn't admit that last part.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Icicle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Icicle <br/>Noun<br/>a hanging, tapering piece of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water.</p>
<p>That night that we shared… again. It was everything that I had been missing in my life since the accident. Since the day that you were taken from me. For the first time in three years, I felt alive, if only for a moment. When we danced under the stars with no one there to witness it. Just us and the stars.</p>
<p>But how my heart breaks now that I am sitting alone in my room. In the place that we once filled with so much life and love. My heart is cold now that you are not with me. I feel like there is a snowstorm raging within my chest and that my heart is covered in icicles. </p>
<p>I want nothing more than for you to be happy. If that happiness means that I am left in pain, so be it. I love you, Viktor, and there is nothing in the world that could ever change that. Not the accident, not a chance meeting, not watching you leave me again. </p>
<p>I thought that letting you leave would be easier the second time around. I should have known that it was a million times more painful than the first time. I wish that if you were aware of any of this you wouldn’t leave me to feel this way. If you only knew who I was, then maybe these icicles would have a chance to melt, and I could get a taste of what happiness is again. </p>
<p>Meeting you again like this has made me feel like I have a second chance. But I have to question if I am really willing to put myself through the pain every time I watch you leave. This second chance would come with a lifetime of secrets, and I wonder if we would be strong enough to survive them. Had it been before the accident, I would undoubtedly believe we could, but I am afraid. </p>
<p>I am afraid that you are not the Viktor that I knew and loved. I am afraid that if you find out who you really are to me that you will run. I am afraid that my heart will break a second time. I am afraid that I may take your happiness, and if that were to happen, that I would not be strong enough to hand it back to you a second time. </p>
<p>Why does life have to be so cruel? We have been dealt a crappy hand, such a crappy hand. I hope that playing these cards out to the end doesn’t come back and bite me. I want you to be happy, Vitya. I don’t want to take that away from you. But I wonder if there is room in your life, again, for me to have some of my happiness back too. </p>
<p>Please tell me you can rip away these icicles.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This was rage written at 3 am because I FINALLY got around to reading the first book for the Yuri on Ice fan comic: Make My Heart Race, after wanting to read it for a year or so. I was inevitably upset with the way that the first book ended and the impossibility of finding the second book. <br/>A little context. <br/>In this story, Viktor is a motorcycle racer who had a horrid accident three years ago and was thrown from his bike. He worked exceptionally hard to come back to racing when everyone thought it was impossible. <br/>Yuuri is the lead singer in the band YK. He is also Viktor Nikiforov’s biggest fan so when he gets the chance to talk to the racer following a race he asks him “are you happy?” Viktor dwells on this question until a chance meeting happens and he once again meets with Yuuri. <br/>Yuuri takes him to an abandoned park where they dance and it is so dang magical it brings a tear to your eye. Upon separating Viktor goes home and gushes to Makka about this cute boy he met. Yuuri on the other hand goes home and sobs over the husband who forgot him and what they had lost. END THE DANG COMIC! <br/>I’m suffering over here people. Suffering big time! I have to find the second book!!!!! <br/>Anywho, enjoy my pain. I am going to go cry now.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Quirky</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Seung Gil is quirky... but for just a moment he breaks.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Quirky<br/>Adjective<br/>Characterized by peculiar or unexpected traits.</p>
<p>Seung Gil Lee was quirky. He had a preference for animals over people; he rarely spoke, and if he cracked a smile, let alone laughed, you could be sure that hell was freezing over. As an introvert, it made Seung Gil very uncomfortable that he found himself at a table surrounded by five other competitors eating dinner the night following the competition. He tried to slink into the furthest corner of the booth and become one with the wall. Still, Phichit kept slinging his arm over his shoulders, insisting that he joined in the conversation. </p>
<p>As one may expect, the conversation following a major competition was focused on anything that was not skating related. This gave him very little to add while the skaters discussed things like the latest movie or play that they had seen. Seung Gil just didn’t have time for that kind of thing. He was always working out what his next move on the ice would be. </p>
<p>He listened and observed as Michale Crispino was teased relentlessly by his peers about how close he was with his sister. Feigned interest when the topic changed to the most recent video game that Yuuri and Yuri were playing. And completely zoned out when someone started talking about a pink convertible that Viktor once bought because he was going through a midlife crisis at 21 years old. </p>
<p>His ears perked up, though, when someone mentioned Viktor’s dog Makkachin. Seung Gil made himself aware of his competition, which more often than not included reading articles and interviews about the skaters themselves. More than once, Viktor had mentioned his adoration of his poodle so it would stand to reason that he already knew about her and having seen a picture of the said dog that he was quite taken with her as well. </p>
<p>He found himself leaning forward a little in his chair as Viktor pulled out his phone and began showing pictures of his dog to everyone that would look. The only problem was that no one wanted to look. Apparently, Makka was a constant topic of conversation at these dinners. Therefore no one was surprised anymore by her adorable antics. </p>
<p>But Seung Gil was. </p>
<p>Phichit seemed surprised to see Seung Gil finally join the conversation and scooted back a little so that the Korean man could lean in a little more to get a good view. Viktor continued telling a story about how Makka had been playing in the snow. He thought that he lost her for a minute because she went headfirst into a snowbank and completely disappeared from sight. </p>
<p>The first indication that something was wrong came when Seung Gil pulled out his phone and pulled up a gallery of his own dog, showing him off to Viktor like any sane proud dog parent would. Viktor let out a small squeal of delight and snatched the man’s phone from him, looking through the pictures himself. Usually, such an action would be irreprehensible, but Seung Gil let it slide. After all, you could tell a lot about a person by how they treated their dog, and it was evident that Makka was well cared for. </p>
<p>The next indication happened when Seung Gil was actively talking with Viktor about the time that he took his dog for a walk through a nature trail that was next to a large lake in his hometown. The dog had gotten excited about seeing some geese on the lake and pulled himself from Seung Gil’s grip and went chasing after then. He paddling halfway across the lake before finally giving up on his chase. Viktor and Seung Gil bonded over the pain of cleaning a wet dog when you weren’t expecting to do it. </p>
<p>Seung Gil smiled, he actually smiled, and Phichit couldn’t help himself, he pulled out his phone and discreetly took a picture of the Korean right as he laughed… HE ACTUALLY LAUGHED… at something, Yuuri had said about Makka. The whole table turned toward the Thai man as the sound of his camera’s shutter went off. </p>
<p>Phichit gulped as Seung Gil leveled him with a look. “Sorry,” he muttered, and he held his phone out for Seung Gil to delete the picture himself. Seung Gil snatched the phone roughly out of Phichit’s hand and turned his back to the group before holding it up. </p>
<p>Oh well, already down the rabbit hole. </p>
<p>It took a good ten seconds for everyone to realize what was happening, mainly because no one, not even Seung Gil himself, could see this coming. Finally, the group huddled close, and the picture was snapped. Seung Gil handed the phone back to Phichit and requested that he send the picture Phichit took of him to his cell. </p>
<p>“My mother always complains that she doesn’t have enough with me smiling.” He shrugged before melting back into the corner. It had been enough interaction for one night.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I was challenged to write this in like 15 minutes... it's completely OOC, I am aware. But I present it to you with my hopes you will forgive me. It's been a long week and my brain was not functioning.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I am not sure how many of these stories I will write. At the moment I do have 20 done though so you will see at least that. Just keep in mind that these are meant to be short and sweet.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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